INDONESIA OFFENDED: Jakarta governor Sutiyoso said that Australian cops entered his room in Sydney with a subpoena requesting that he give evidence at an inquest
A prominent Indonesian politician said Australia's ambassador apologized yesterday over his alleged ill treatment during a trip to Sydney, defusing a diplomatic row between the two nations.

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TALIBAN CLAIM RESPONSIBILITY: The Chinook might have been carrying troops on an air assault in Kajaki, the site of a large hydroelectric dam now being repaired
Five Americans, a Briton and a Canadian died when a Chinook helicopter was apparently shot down in Afghanistan's most volatile province, officials said. The Taliban claimed responsibility.

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Nine Muslim men detained in a series of police raids in 2005 pleaded not guilty yesterday to conspiring to commit a terrorist attack in Australia, at a hearing held under tight security.

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China is drafting an anti-terrorism law to safeguard against domestic and international threats, state media reported yesterday.

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COMPENSATION DENIED: The plaintiffs filed the suit against the Japanese government and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, demanding money and an apology
A Japanese court yesterday refused to award compensation to Korean women who were allegedly forced to work in a Japanese machinery factory during World War II.

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ILLEGAL TREATMENT: Officials said that Pfizer's use of an experimental drug to treat 100 children infected with meningitis in 1996 caused 11 deaths and other disabilities
Northern Nigerian authorities have filed a US$2 billion civil case and were preparing criminal charges against US drug company Pfizer, accusing it of conducting a drug experiment that led to deaths and disabilities in a group of children more than a decade ago, court papers said.

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Ukraine was back in political deadlock yesterday after parliament missed a deadline set by President Viktor Yushchenko to approve legislation to end a two-month constitutional crisis.

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Israeli aircraft and artillery attacked Palestinian rocket launchers in the Gaza Strip yesterday, the army said, as Israel persisted in its two-week operation meant to stop the crude projectiles.

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FLORA AND FAUNA: A number of trees used in making musical instruments, along with endangered animals, will be the focus of the meet on trade in endangered species
If you think the problem of endangered species is all about tigers, elephants and orangutans, ask a violinist where he gets his bow.

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Four American hostages seized weeks ago in Nigeria's restive southern oil heartland were publicly handed over to authorities, while protesters cut exports from Africa's top petroleum producer.

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RCTV RUCKUS: A Chavez opponent called on the president to release students who have been arrested for protesting the banning of Radio Caracas Television
A top opponent of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez demanded the release of jailed protesters as university students poured into the streets for a third day to protest the removal of a leading opposition TV station from the air.

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BACK AND FORTH: The Russian foreign minister took aim at the US' planned missile defense system, while the US secretary of state insisted the mechanism was not a threat
Russia's top diplomat accused the US of launching a new arms race as the two nations traded barbs over US plans to erect a missile defense system in countries formally under Moscow's influence.

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A former member of the Ku Klux Klan (KKK) went on trial on Wednesday charged in connection with the brutal murders more than 40 years ago of two young black civil rights activists in Mississippi.

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California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty announced plans on Wednesday to join forces to advance stem cell research and curb global warming.

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US and Iraqi troops raided Baghdad's Sadr City neighborhood on Wednesday, looking for five British citizens abducted a day earlier from a nearby government building, military and diplomatic officials said.

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■ South Korea
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